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SA make steady start after Hussey ton
Cricket world pays tribute to Kerry Packer
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Pak may ask ICC to replace Hair
Pak to issue 8,000 visas for Indian fans
Pak favourites against India, says Imran
IWF short of funds to host Asian meet
Indian men snatch lead
Renu sets new
national record
Surjit hockey from tomorrow
4 qualify for Winter Olympics
Indian Oil, PSB in quarters
Punjab, Haryana face defeat Annual sports meet at DAV school
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SA make steady start after Hussey ton
Melbourne, December 27 The South Africans lost both openers, skipper Graeme Smith (22) and AB De Villiers (61), after Australia ended their first innings on 355, bolstered by a fighting 122 from Hussey in a record last-wicket stand. Australia were staring at a meagre innings total after going into the second day on 239 for eight, but left-hander Hussey combined in a 107-run 10th wicket partnership with Glenn McGrath to frustrate the Proteas. Hussey turned things around for Australia with his third century in an impressive debut year in Test cricket. He dominated the partnership with McGrath, who remained 11 not out after two defiant hours at the crease. Hussey was finally bowled by Makhaya Ntini in the 120th over of the innings, ending his four-hour resistance which featured 14 boundaries and four sixes. At stumps, South Africa had worked their way to 169 for two with Herschelle Gibbs perserving with an unbeaten 54 and Jacques Kallis on 17, 186 runs in arrears. It was only the fourth time in Tests that Australia had achieved a century 10th wicket partnership. McGrath featured in the previous one with Jason Gillespie, a 114-run stand against New Zealand in Brisbane last season. It was a much improved day for the Australians, who clawed their way back into the game after a spectacular 7-85 collapse late on day one. Hussey, starting the day on 23, proved a major irritant to the Proteas. His innings evoked memories of his unbeaten 133 against the West Indies in the third Adelaide Test last month, when he was on 35 with two wickets left in the Australian first innings. He seized the momentum from the South Africans, who had finished the opening day on top after batting out the final day to salvage a draw in last week’s opening Perth Test. When Stuart MacGill was out for four in today’s third over, Hussey was only on 27, yet he found a willing partner in McGrath to bring up three figures. Once again the South Africans were their own worst enemies, with Jacques Kallis fumbling a high chance at second slip off Shaun Pollock when Hussey was on 27. In their reply the South Africans, crawling along at 2.8 runs at over, stonewalled the Australian attack, often leaving deliveries and forsaking risky shots. Brett Lee trapped Smith leg before wicket for 22 with one that pitched in line with the stumps and hit him on the back pad. McGrath captured only his second wicket of the series when he had De Villiers lbw with one that jagged back from outside off-stump. The Australian team wore black armbands and were joined in a minute’s reflection by the South African team following the death of influential cricket figure and media magnate Kerry Packer. Scoreboard Australia (1st innings) Jaques c Rudolph b Pollock 2 Hayden c Smith b Pollock 65 Ponting c Gibbs b Nel 117 Hodge c Smith b Pollock 7 Hussey b Ntini 122 Symonds c Boucher b Nel 0 Gilchrist c Gibbs b Nel 2 Warne c Boje b Nel 9 Lee lbw b Ntini 4 MacGill b Ntini 4 McGrath not out 11 Extras
(b-2, lb-4, w-2, nb-4) 12 Total (all out, in 119.3 overs) 355 Fall of wickets:
1-2, 2-154, 3-176, 4-207, 5-207, 6-213, 7-227, 8-239, 9-248. Bowling:
Pollock 26-5-67-3, Ntini 22.3-3-70-3, Kallis 21.5-4-69-0, Nel 31-6-84-4, Boje 18.1-3-59-0. South Africa (1st innings) Smith lbw b Lee 22 De Villiers lbw b McGrath 61 Gibbs not out 54 Kallis not out 17 Extras
(lb-4, nb-11) 15 Total (for 2 wkts, in 58 overs) 169 Fall of wickets:
1-36, 2-122 Bowling: McGrath 14-8-17-1, Lee 14-1-65-1, Symonds 13-4-34-0, Warne 12-3-40-0, MacGill 5-1-9-0.
— AFP |
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Cricket world pays tribute to Kerry Packer
Sydney, December 27 The Australian and South African teams observed a minute’s silence before the resumption of play in their test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground while former players, administrators and Cricket Australia’s current chairman, Creagh O’Connor, said Packer’s influence on Australian cricket could be rivaled only by Donald Bradman, the sport' greatest batsman. “The so-called ‘Packer revolution’ in the 1970s has left a lasting legacy in the way the game is played,” O’Connor said in a statement. “One-day international cricket is now an international phenomena as a result of Kerry Packer.” Packer, who was 68, revolutionised the sport when he established World Series Cricket in the late 1970s and the game has never been the same since. Annoyed that his attempts to buy the exclusive television rights to broadcast Test cricket in Australia were turned down, Packer decided to take on the establishment. He poached some of the best international players to form his own competition comprised of three teams from Australia, West Indies and the Rest of the World. His initial “supertests” failed to capture the imagination of the public, despite the high standard of cricket, but his pioneering promotion of one-day cricket was an instant success. Australia’s richest man had six floodlight towers built around the Sydney Cricket Ground so matches could be played at night. A white ball, black sight-screens and coloured clothing were introduced. The establishment scoffed at Packer’s ideas, but the crowds loved it and voted with their feet. The first day-night match was staged at the SCG on November 28, 1978. World Series Cricket officials had hoped for 20,000 spectators but around 50,000 poured in to the famous old ground to celebrate an Australian win. Packer knew he was on to a winner and by the time he reached a truce in the following year with the game’s authorities, so did the players and public. The players returned to the establishment as high ly-paid professionals, while Packer got the television rights he wanted and millions of people who had never been interested in cricket were suddenly transfixed by the game. “His actions in relation to World Series Cricket have transformed that game, initially very controversially, initially heavily criticised,” Australian Prime Minister John Howard told reporters. “But in the fullness of time, the advent of one-day cricket has not only won millions of additional adherence to the game but also transformed the traditional test match game itself.'' One-day cricket had already begun to take root before the introduction of World Series Cricket but Packer's involvement undoubtedly accelerated the process. Limited-overs cricket is now the most popular version of the game and night matches are common in most of the major playing nations. Players are highly paid and broadcasters now have a big influence over scheduling and how the game is run. In Australia each summer, the traditional test series is followed by a triangular international one-day tournament that attracts huge crowds and television audiences. Former Australia Test captain Richie Benaud, who works as a commentator for Packer’s Australian television network, said cricket was much better off for the mogul's involvement. “Cricket has changed for the better ... it’s because of what happened then, cricket is so strong now,” Benaud said. Dubai: The organisation whose very existence he once threatened, the International Cricket Council (ICC) today paid tributes to Kerry Packer and remembered the Aussie media tycoon for “his contributions to the cricket”. “It was with both shock and great sadness that I learnt the news of Kerry Packer’s passing,” ICC president Ehsan Mani said and added, “I would like, first of all, to take this opportunity to offer my sincere condolences to his family and friends.” “Very few people in the whole history of the game, either players or administrators, can be said to have changed the game but Kerry Packer can rightly be considered someone who did just that,” Mani added. The ICC president recalled Mr Packer's contribution to the game and hailed him for ushering cricket into a new era. Mr Mani said the players also owed him a huge debt of gratitude because he recognised their worth and paid them accordingly. “He recognised they were the entertainers and had to be rewarded, he helped make cricket an attractive career option for youngsters and that was one of his great achievements,” he
said. — Reuters, UNI |
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Pak may ask ICC to replace Hair
Islamabad, December 27 Some of Hair’s decisions during the recent series against England were
doubtful and since most of them went against Pakistan, it led to a huge outcry from the media, fans and former
players alike. However, PCB’s Director (Cricket Operations) Saleem Altaf declined to comment on Hair’s appointment. Hair is slated to stand with South African Rudi Koertzen in the second Test in Faisalabad and then with fellow Australian Simon Taufel in the third Test at Karachi. The first Test at Lahore is to be supervised by Koertzen and Australian Daryl Harper. Taufel has also been appointed for the five ODIs. On PCB’s proposal to the Indian board to have
neutral umpires to supervise all five one-dayers as was done in the recent series against England, Altaf
said the proposal was still under discussion. — PTI |
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Pak to issue 8,000 visas for Indian fans
Lahore, December 27 An Interior ministry official later said for the Test matches, the duration of visa would be eight days while for one-dayers its period would be three days for a specific city. Indian fans will have to present printouts of their tickets to the Pakistan missions who will then issue visas, he said and added that the tickets for the matches would be sold by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) through the Internet. Visas for the mediapersons advertising agents, and others would have to be routed through the PCB who would send the request to the Interior Ministry at least 10 days before the match, the official said.
— UNI |
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Pak favourites against India, says Imran
Islamabad, December 27 On the issue of Karachi hosting a Test between the arch rivals, he said India must play in the port city since the successful conduct of a one-dayer against England recently had proved that conditions there were “quite satisfactory”.
— PTI |
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IWF short of funds to host Asian meet
Yamunanagar, December 27 It will be for the first time that the IWF will be organising an international meet on its own. The IWF till date has failed to secure corporate sponsorship for the meet. The IWF has to make a presentation before a technical committee — an essential prerequisite for holding the championship — during the forthcoming Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, in 2006 and the officials are busy preparing for the presentation. Hyderabad was selected as the venue as the necessary infrastructure, including training halls, auditoriums, requisite number of hotels and other logistics are “already in place”. International Weightlifting Federation and Asian Weightlifting Federation had reportedly inspected and approved the scheduled venue during the first Afro-Asian Games held in 2003 in Hyderabad. “Afro-Asian Games were a huge success” said Sqd Ld B.R. Gulati, Vice-President of the IWF, and added “In fact the Asian Weightlifting Federation made on the spot offer to hold the championship on our long standing request”. Sqd Ld Gulati said the Andhra Pradesh Government had literally opened its purse strings and gone all out to make the Afro-Asian games a success. “IWF proposes to cash on the popularity and goodwill so generated as logistics are already in place for the championship,” he said. In fact such arrangements will help the IWF in cutting down its budget to a considerable extent. In spite of the excellent logistics, the IWF will require considerable resources to hold the meet in which more than 250 competitors and 100 officials from 20 countries are expected to participate. Sources in the IWF admits that the federation on its own cannot hold such a big event. “Our modest budget is Rs 1.60 crore for the meet. This estimate has been made after excluding grants and share of registration fee that will be reimbursed by the Asian Weightlifting Federation,” informed Gulati. Sources said the budget estimate was made after seeking assurances of concession from Hyderabad-based hotels (for accommodation of competitors and officials) and transporters. The President of the IWF, Mr H.J. Dora, who recently superannuated as Chief Vigilance Commissioner of India and who, incidentally, was Director General of Police, Andhra Pradesh, is learnt to be making frantic efforts to secure funds for the meet from corporate houses and Andhra industrial houses. |
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Indian men snatch lead
Isfahan (Iran), December 27 After some mixed results throughout the championship, the Indian players performed when it mattered the most, thanks to the efforts of national champion and Grandmaster Surya Shekhar Ganguly and GM Sandipan Chanda on the second and fourth board, respectively. While Ganguly scored a fine victory over GM Nguyen Anh Dung, Sandipan Chanda proved much stronger than in-form teenager Le Quang Liem. On the top board for India, GM Krishnan Sasikiran drew easily as black against Dao Thein Hai while on the third International Master S Kidambi held GM Nguyen Ngoc Truongson to get the team the much-needed victory. With just one round remaining, the top-seeded Indians emerged as sole leaders on 27.5 points and are now virtually assured of the title in the six-team double round-robin event. Vietnam is placed second on 26 points while Iran A is a distant fourth on 24.5 points. The fourth places are held by Iran B on 15, Turkmenistan is next in line on 11 while Afghanistan is firmly in the cellar on 4 points. In the next round, Indians will take on Iran B and even a 2-2 draw should be enough for them to win the championship for the first time. In the women’s event being organised simultaneously, the Indian eves did well again to beat Iran A by a 2.5-0.5 margin but were joined by Vietnam at the top of the tables after the latter cruised to a 3-0 victory over Iran B after the fifth and penultimate round. Both Vietnam and India have nine points apiece now and the final round will determine the winner in this section. Both Iranian teams are on six points apiece. In the final round, the Indian eves will clash with Iran B while Vietnam will have to battle it out against Iran A. Hari in lead
Pamplona (Spain): Former world junior champion P. Harikrishna jumped in to sole lead in the 15th Ciudad de Pamplona International Chess Tournament with a crushing victory over GM Laurent Fresinet of France in the fourth round here today. With his second victory in the tournament, Harikrishna took his tally to three points out of a possible four and is now half a point adrift of nearest rivals, former world Champion Rulan Ponomariov of Ukraine and Ivan Cheparinov of Bulgaria, who both have 2.5 points each in their bag. Another half point behind are Izria Zviad of Georgia, Sergei Tiviakov of Holland and Fressinet while Dutchman Jan Timman and Andorran Oscar De La Riva Aguado have one With three rounds still to come in this Category-16 round robin event among eight players, third seed Harikrishna has excellent chance of making another title triumph. In the next round the Indian will meet Zviad while in the last two rounds he will play against Tiviakov and Ponomariov, second and top seeds, respectively.
— PTI |
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Renu sets new
national record
Yamunanagar, December 27 Renu belonging to a financially poor family of Manipur today lifted 93 kg in the snatch and broke the standard national record of 92 kg. In overall total also she lifted weights equal to Prasmita Mangaraj but had to content with a silver medal as her body weight was about 800 grams more than Prasmita. While talking to The Tribune, Renu said she used to travel several kilometers on her bicycle for training. When her family members noticed her talent they admitted her to a Sports Authority of India centre at Lucknow. She started representing UP in 2004. Results (in order of position): women (58 kg): snatch: Renu Bala (UP) 93 kg; P. Haritha (Andhra Pradesh) 88 kg and Premeshwari Devi (Karnataka) 87 kg. Clean and Jerk: Prasmita Mangaraj (Police) 117 kg; Renu Bala (UP) 110 kg and P. Haritha (AP) 109 kg. Overall: Prasmita Mangaraj 203 kg; Renu Bala 203 kg and P. Haritha 197 kg. Men (85 kg) snatch: Tajender Singh (Police) 146 kg; K. Nagraj (TN) 143 kg and Satish Rai (Bank) 142 kg. Clean and Jerk: Tejinder Singh 176 kg; Vijay Kumar (Haryana) 171 kg and Rajesh Singh (SSCB) 171 kg. Overall: Tajinder Singh 322 kg; K. Nagraj 310 Kg and Rajesh Singh (SSCB) 308 kg. Inter-state: K.Nagraj 310 kg; Baljeet Singh (Chandigarh) 306 kg and Balwinder Kumar (Punjab) 302 kg. Men (77 kg) – Snatch – V Prabhu (Railways) 138 kg; Gurucharan Singh (Police) 137 kg and Mohd. Zakir (SSCB) 131 kg. Clean and jerk: Mohd Zakir 174 kg; Santokh Kumar (Punjab) 168 kg and K. Jagdeesan (Tamil Nadu) 168 kg. Overall: Mohd. Zakir 305 kg; V. Prabhu 302 kg and Gurucharan Singh 301 kg. Inter-state medal: Satokh Kumar (Punjab) 298 kg; K. Jagdeesan (TN) 295 kg and D. Srinivasan (TN) 286 kg. — TNS |
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Surjit hockey from tomorrow
Jalandhar, December 27 According to the Deputy Commissioner and the president of the Surjit Hockey Society, Mr Ashok Gupta, the tournament, organised in the memory of late Surjit Singh Randhawa, former captain of the Indian hockey team, would extend all financial help to the family of the hockey hero. Two teams from Pakistan; Shadman Hockey Club, Rawalpindi, and the Nobel Hockey Club, Lahore, would also be taking part in the tournament among the 17 teams. In the women section, four teams — Western Railways, Mumbai, Central Railways, Mumbai, Pepsu XI and Haryana XI will take part, while in the men section, defending champions Punjab and Sind Bank, Bharat Petroleum, Mumbai, Punjab Police, BSF, Jalandhar, Punjab National Bank, Delhi, CISF, Delhi, Corps of Signals, Indian Air Lines, Delhi, Indian Oil Delhi, SAI Centre of Excellence, Patiala, Surjit Hockey Academy, CRPF, Delhi, EME, Jalandhar, and Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, would take part. In the men section, the tournament will be played on knock-out basis while in the women on round-robin league basis. |
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4 qualify for Winter Olympics
New Delhi, December 27 Randhir said Nehra Ahuja was currently training in Austria and Hira Lal in Japan, and both will continue to train there till mid January before returning to India and proceed for Italy for the Olympics. The IOA secretary-general said Gupta Bahadur Gurung is training in Norway under coach Otter Haldorsen while Shiva Kesavan is already in Torino as he is a resident of Florence (Italy). |
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Indian Oil, PSB in quarters
New Delhi, December 27 Internationals Prabhjot Singh (2) and Deepak Thakur scored the goals for Indian Oil while Punjab and Sind Bank reduced the margin through Navpreet Singh. Bharat Petroleum drew with Punjab National Bank 1-1 and qualified for the quarterfinal while Namdhari XI also made the last eight, after drawing 2-2 with Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). Hari Prasad put Bharat Petroleum in the lead while Jatinder Saroha drew parity for PNB. Gurpreet Singh hit home both the goals for Namdhari XI while Mukesh and Rajesh Kumar were the scorers for the CRPF. |
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Punjab, Haryana face defeat
Vadodara, December 27 Ananthapur: K.S. Shahabuddin sparkled with an all round performance as Andhra amassed 409 to take a first innings lead of 203 against Haryana, who were reeling at 125 for 8 in their second innings on the penultimate day of the Elite Group 'B' Ranji Trophy cricket match here today.
— PTI, UNI |
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Annual sports meet at DAV school Ambala, December 27 After the flag hoisting and oath-taking ceremony, the minister declared the meet open. The manager of the school Mr J.S. Nain welcomed the chief guest. The principal of the school, Ms Reena Nagrath, informed the chief guest about the achievements of the school in sports, especial mention was made of Naman Gupta, a student, who was selected to represent the country in the International Skating Championship to be held in Hyderabad next month. Mr Mulana expressed his gratitude to DAV institutions for their contribution in uplifting the society and withstanding the competition in the education sector. He said the state government had decided to set up an international standard education city on the Haryana-Delhi border in which 25 per cent of the seats would be reserved for the Haryana students. The sports meet began with the march past. The obstacle clearing race, cycle race, balloon race, partner race, three-leg race and slow-cycle race kept the audiance spellbound. The variety drills comprising the ring drill, pomp-pomp drill and the balloon drill were the main attraction of the show. In the tug of war parents showed their might. The meet culminated with the prize distribution. Prominent dignitaries, including Dr D.P. Asija, Mr B.R. Relhan, Mr K.L. Nagpal, Mr Surender Juneja and Mr Anil Gupta were also present on the occasion. |
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